I am so glad you were able to get her to the vet so quickly and that she is going to recover just fine. I have cut and paste some of HisGirl's advice on raising kittens. She rescued two last summer they were five days old when she saved them. I am also including a site called Save Haven: it also explains how to hand raise newborns.

Hi,

JamieMarie said you might need some advice. I raised two kittens from 5 days old on and it was pretty crazy at first. Anyway, 3-4 weeks old is good because in a few more weeks Vlad can be on solid food altogether and that's so much easier. At this age he still needs to be on milk somewhat so get a nurser (pointy tip, not round, it works so much better) and some kitten formula and feed him one bottle around every 6 hours (8 hours at night is ok). Introduce wet cat food mashed with formula milk and try to get him to taste it. My kittens really loved the Iams kitten wet food. In a couple weeks to start getting him on dry food, just gradually mix in dry food with the wet.

To teach him to drink out of a bowl instead of a bottle, put formula in the bowl and place a drop on his nose, so he will lick it off, then let him follow your finger with formula on it till his face is above the milk. It takes them awhile to get the hang of it. My kittens would stick their face in there and get it up their nose- cute and pathetic. To this day they like to bat at their water dish (or in the toilet, or the sink) and will often test to feel where the water is before they drink. Hehe.

Litter box training is not hard, they figure it out eventually. Just put a little box (lined with foil if it is cardboard) out with some litter in it and put him in there every time after you feed him. Also pick up any poop outside the box and put it in there. If he keeps going in one area, move the box over there. Eventually it sinks in and they use the box all the time. It takes a little while for them to get full bladder control so even if they know to go in the box they might not always make it there.



Sorry I'm babbling so much. As far as teaching him to play, just provide toys and let him go for it. Have fun dangling things for him etc. I read that kittens needed to learn how to groom too so I followed the advice of a website and wiped them down with a warm washcloth (use the corner to simulate a mother's tongue) whenever they needed it. I don't know if that taught them to clean themselves or if it's just a natural instinct, but they do fine now.

Well hope that helps. I'm sure lots of people have given you tips already. Let me know if you have any questions, good luck!

-Laura
Safe Haven


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Jaime owned by

Mya the dog

and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

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